Employer vs. Employee: What’s your mindset?
It may seem like we’re stating the obvious but the mindset of successful employers is different from the mindset of employees. The combination of beliefs, thought processes, and ways of viewing the world is what drives innovative behaviour – the essential ingredient for successful entrepreneurs.
You probably became a business owner because you carry the entrepreneurial spirit within you. But too often, when we get into the details of running the business, we spend less and less time thinking like entrepreneurs, and more like employees.
Let’s do a quick check of your mindset…
1) Thinking Strategically
“Strategic thinking rarely occurs spontaneously.” – Michael Porter
Strategic thinking is different from thinking reactively. It’s about your big-picture goals and long-term vision, and fuels how you work strategically. It requires you to prioritise your actions every day and filter out mundane business activities so you can think from a higher level.
When you’re thinking strategically, you’re constantly asking questions like:
What do I want my business to look like one year from now? Or five?
How can my business help me achieve the lifestyle I want?
What are the steps needed to get me there?
Who can I trust to help me achieve my goals?
What’s holding my business back, and what strategies can help me move forward?
2) Thinking Systemically
Systemic describes what relates to an entire system and seeing how the intersection of parts affects the whole.
For example, poor sales aren’t necessarily the fault of your salespeople’s performance and their lack of effort. It may be that the company’s sales processes are unclear, or maybe they aren’t hitting your sales goals because you haven’t communicated their targets with them?
3) Thinking Systematically
Bringing order to chaos is an inside-out job. With your strategic and systemic thinking hats on, the systematic approach now puts the needed changes into motion.
It’s the next step in entrepreneurial thinking. Once you’re aware of the systemic problems in your business, like the example above of poor sales, you’re ready to create the systems to solve them. Systematic thinking builds the clearly defined processes and steps needed to increase sales, or onboard new clients, or improve customer service, or increase the efficiency of and accuracy of administrative tasks.
Success of your terms
“We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.” – Albert Einstein
Thinking like an entrepreneur drives your actions, which ultimately determines whether your business will be successful or not. By thinking differently, you get different results. By continually asking questions, such as “Why do we do it this way?” and, “How could we do it better?” you’ll get the answers.
Email us here to book your Strategic Planning session and get your mindset in the right place.